Mike Haskew

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the February 2018 edition of BLADE. Download the issue here.

A Bowie Knife Collecting Obsession

The trail of the fabled bowie knife is long and winding. From the Sandbar Fight to the Alamo and beyond, its fact, mystery and myth have become the stuff of legend. The trail extends nearly 200 years, and for half his life Chris Nolen of West Monroe, Louisiana, has traveled down it.
For sure, he’s gone further than most.

At 65, Chris remains heavily engaged in a custom embroidery and screen print business called Reflections with his daughter, Lori Rockett, while another daughter, Lindsey Sanders, lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A retired telecommunications worker, he has sought and bought knives since his days mowing lawns for money so that he could run to the local hardware store and buy the knives that caught his eye.

“My mother still kids me about not having any money in those days because I was always buying knives,” he smiled.

Chris married his wife, Linda, 40 years ago, and shortly afterward his knife interest literally got bigger. He collected several large hunting knives by BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Bo Randall and still owns a dozen of them, but he isn’t alone in the lure of the brawny bowie.

Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Jim Bowie’s legendary encounter at the sandbar, his final hours at the Alamo, the association of numerous knives that bear his name with the history of Texas, its link to the Civil War, and its stretch across the Atlantic to beginnings in the cradle of quality knifemaking—Sheffield, England—made the bowie irresistible.

“It seems like every time I went to a show I was attracted to the big bowie knives,” he recalled. “Sometimes, you might say, ‘What are these good for?’ but I saw them as art in steel.”

Today, the Nolen collection of bowies tops 200, and a fortress-like display room keeps them safe and allows their owner to show them to visitors. One of Chris’s primary pursuits has been the history of the bowie along with a desire to own reproductions of some of the most significant bowies in history. He has worked with several top-notch custom knifemakers, pored over documents and traveled to various locations, the results of which are nothing short of spectacular.

Among his bowies are repros of the Searles-Fowler bowie (the original of which is on display in the Alamo), the Joe Musso brass-back bowie, the Iron Mistress, the Jesse Clift bowie, the Juan Seguin Bowie and Bowie No. 1, to name a few.

“No Turning Back”

In 1986, Chris contacted knifemaker Jerry Berry of Natchitoches, Louisiana, after sketching a bowie. He asked if Berry could actually make the knife from the drawings. Of course, the answer was yes.

“That knife has a 9.5-inch blade with a slight recurve,” Nolen said, “with brass and nickel-silver trim and a solid stag handle with a hidden tang. The blade is ATS-34 stainless steel. That is one of my favorites because it was one of the first. Once I got it there was no turning back, and for the last 30 years I have pretty much stuck with the big bowies. Robert Blasingame of Kilgore, Texas, helped me get started on the making of copies of antique knives before he passed away in 2010. He was quite a historian.

Bringing Bowie Knife History to Life

“It was about 10 years ago that I got this wild idea to track back the bowie and its origin,” Chris continued, “and Linda and I visited 12 museums and met curators, who were all such nice people who even let us hold some of the original knives that were associated with the Bowie family.

“For example, we went to the Alamo and actually got the dimensions of the original Searles-Fowler knife. Now, we’ve researched and had reproductions made of pretty much every knife associated with the Bowie family.”

Through the years Chris has developed a reputation as something of an expert on bowie knives, resulting in his traveling exhibit aptly named, “Bowie Knife: Fact, Myth, and Legend.” In 2014, he traveled to the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock, where more than 200 genuine bowies were on display.

“They had my reproductions at the entrance there in a big black case,” he remembered. “There is probably more legend than anything surrounding these knives. Jim Bowie didn’t leave us much to go on, and I have studied him for years now. His brother, Rezin, was a big promoter of the bowie knife and gave a lot of them away as gifts. These reproduction knives have been everywhere, and I get a kick out of it.”

Along with the history lesson that the bowie repros convey, visitors can begin to grasp the tremendous skill that is required to produce a high quality bowie.

“It’s hard for a maker in today’s time to get into the head of a maker from 180 or 200 years ago,” Chris offered, “and most of them want to put their own artistic spin on a knife. But along with Jerry Berry, I narrowed it down to Rich McDonald and Mark Banfield who do a lot of work for me, and Cowboy Bob Giles of Whitefish, Montana, who has probably made 15 of them for me. These men are unbelievable artists.”

Musso and Musician Phil Collins

Mention of the Musso Bowie conjures some of the theory and conjecture surrounding its authenticity.

According to Chris, Joe Musso sold the original knife to Phil Collins of the rock music group, Genesis, who in turn donated the original to the Alamo, where some metallurgical testing has been done and some believe the “JB” mark on the guard ties the knife to Jim Bowie.

“That is one of my favorite reproductions because Mark [Banfield] went the extra mile and even copied the stains on the blade,” Chris commented, “and it is the only authorized true copy of the Musso knife. I have some Samuel Bell copies and one of my favorites was just done by Giles. It is an exact copy of the Charles Congreve knife done in Sheffield around 1835, a big swayback bowie trimmed in silver.”

A “Dazzling Display” of Bowie Knives

A couple of years ago Chris and Linda decided to build their dream house on a tract of land they had owned for a while. The move brought to light several knives that had been packed away for 20 years or so. Thinking about the future of his collection, Chris decided to make space available to display it properly.

“I always wanted to have a secured room to display the knives in,” he remarked, “so we designed this room 20 by 18 with no windows, solid brick, and with concrete next to the brick. It would take a tank to get into this thing. There is also a solid steel security door, so it is pretty much a vault. Lori’s husband, Marc, owns a custom cabinet shop. He cuts wood with a laser, and he cut out an entire wall and put in a cabinet for guns to go on each end and 18 drawers at the bottom. You can pull out the knife displays. There are two center panels, and the display is 14 feet wide and 7 feet tall. The center panels have 32 pewter hangers in a fleur-de-lis design that hold 32 bowie knives. At the bottom is a 3-foot shelf that holds about 40 bowies.

“It isn’t everywhere that you can see 70 or 80 bowie knives in the open,” Chris added. “People come in and they have to catch their breath. I also have a coffee table with a glass-top display that holds about 20 knives and is kind of my dedication to Davy Crockett. The other side of the room is a glass display of the ‘Fact, Myth, and Legend.’ The cabinetry is all of alderwood.”

To complete the dazzling display, Nolen commissioned three paintings depicting the epic of the bowie knife during the desperate, heroic stand at the Alamo. The first painting depicts the death of Jim Bowie, slashing defiantly at Mexican soldiers from his cot.

The second depicts the death of Crockett, a death which is surrounded in controversy. The artist allows the viewer to decide Crockett’s fate, depicting the legendary Tennessee long hunter and adventurer standing but exhausted.

The third depicts the death of Col. William Travis, commander of the doomed Alamo garrison.
Although it might seem to the casual observer that the Nolen journey down the bowie trail is complete, such is not the case.

Chris continues to add to his collection. Mark Zalesky, editor of KNIFE magazine, recently pitched in to assist with the recreation of a Samuel Bell knife located in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Mark Banfield completed the addition.

The road goes on forever.

Make Your Own Knives

Bowie knives are one of the first projects new knifemakers undertake. Get started with this collection of hand-picked books from BLADE.

Rarely does a single brand, style or look set the standard for an entire genre in the knife industry, let alone hold its place for decades with no sign of a loosening grip. Just say the words “Swiss Army knife” and the image is clear and constant.

The classic red handle emblazoned with the shield and cross of its land of origin render the Swiss Army knife (SAK) instantly recognizable, while its multifunction versatility makes it indispensable for those who carry it and rely on it in a variety of situations.

Cut, slice, tighten/loosen a flat- or Phillips-head screw, punch, file, open a can or bottle and even sign your name, the pride of Victorinox and the trademark of the Swiss Army is the versatility that is found nowhere else.

Origins in the American Market

Like every icon in any field, the SAK is surrounded in legend and lore. The consensus is that the knife gained widespread appeal during and after World War II as Allied soldiers brought them home, and those who saw the knives clamored for one of their own.

American military personnel came to further love the SAK when it became available at the nearest base PX (post exchange), and sales are said to have exploded.

The History of Swiss Army Knives

Of course, there was a tinge of controversy related to the “first” Swiss Army knives. In 2005, Victorinox went a long way in closing the book on that discussion with the acquisition of rival Wenger, followed by the consolidation of the two brands into the single Victorinox label in 2013.
Victorinox Global Chief Executive Officer Charles Elsener likes to tell the story of his family’s development of the early SAK.

“In 1897, founder Karl Elsener created his ‘Officer’s and Sports Knife,’” Charles explained, “and registered it legally June 12 of that year. He also was responsible for the iconic design, which has not changed to this day. From 1897 to 1937, the handles were made of red fiber. Functions of the knife included big blade, small blade, can opener, corkscrew and reamer. The name of this model today is the ‘Spartan.’”

In 1937 the knife handles changed to celluloid, and since 1971 the material used is Cellidor. The red color was probably chosen for the red in the Swiss flag and also for the Swiss canton [district] of Schwyz—and probably to help the owner find his treasured possession when it falls on the ground!

Popular Swiss Army Knife Models

According to Elsener, the most popular SAK in the company’s early days was the Spartan. In 1902, a wood saw and scissors were added. The new model with scissors was christened the Climber, and the Huntsman included both the wood saw and scissors.

As more and more tools were added, the flagship knife became the SwissChamp, introduced in 1986 with a grand total of 33 functions.

“The fourth bestseller is our smaller Classic keyring model,” Elsener added, “and these five bestsellers have been the same since their introduction.”

Charles confirms that American soldiers popularized the SAK during World War II and are responsible for its name today since they had difficulty pronouncing it in German as the “Schweizer Offiziers-und Sportsmesser.”

Today, Victorinox produces 60,000 SAKs per day and a staggering 13 million pieces annually, achieving these numbers consistently.

A Humble Knife

BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Tim Leatherman, developer of the popular Leatherman Tool, gave the introduction speech when Charles Elsener’s father, Carl, was inducted into the Cutlery Hall Of Fame in 2011.

Charles told of a modest, unassuming man who wore a workman’s smock while at the company.

“One day Carl happened to be at the loading dock when a truck pulled in and everyone else was at lunch,” Tim smiled. “The driver saw Carl and said, ‘Hey you! Help me unload this truck.’ Without saying a word, Carl did. Only when another worker returned from lunch and saw what was happening did the mortified driver realize what he had done. But Carl took no offense at all. He was still his humble self.”

An Unassailable Knife

The humble knife the Elsener family put together also has risen without unnecessary fanfare to the height of fame and cutlery glory. Leatherman sees an unassailable place in knife history for the SAK.

“Victorinox with the Swiss Army knife anchors the knife industry,” he asserted. “One category of products within the cutlery industry is ‘pocket-carried knives,’ which has three subcategories—common pocketknives, tactical knives and multipurpose pocketknives. And deservedly so. The design deserves every bit of recognition it has received. I know firsthand how hard it is to make a knife or tool without a cosmetic defect. And I have never seen a cosmetic defect in a Swiss Army knife. The Swiss Army knife is recognized and coveted worldwide.

“I was very much aware of the Swiss Army knife as I was designing the Leatherman Tool,” Tim continued. “So much so that in one of my prototypes I cannibalized a pair of scissors from a Swiss Army knife to put in my tool. However, my design diverged away from the Swiss Army knife because in a Swiss Army knife the blade is the central feature, and I wanted a pair of pliers to be the central feature of my Leatherman Tool.”

The Swiss Army Knife Collectors Society

While satisfying the needs of the businessman, blue-collar worker and outdoorsman, the SAK also has cultivated a devoted group of collectors. Doug Dillman, owner of Freeport Knife Co. in Freeport, Maine, leads the Swiss Army Knife Collectors Society, which was founded in 2000 by avid collector Dan Jacquart.

“The club currently has about 150 members,” Dillman commented. “Our objective since the beginning has been to encourage and support collectors who share a passion for both collecting Swiss Army knives and educating members about the many changes to the product and the factory’s history since its creation in 1884. We largely accomplish this through the publication of a biannual newsletter. We try to offer articles about changes to the many models over the years, new product introductions, and special-edition models. Our last issue included a tang stamp chart to help members determine the age of a knife.”

Insights for Swiss Army Knife Collectors

A collector for 30 years, Dillman has seen a number of SAKs appreciate in value.

“Old-style Soldier’s knives prior to 1954 can be found anywhere from $100 to more than $1,000, depending of course on condition,” he commented. “Very early ones from the 1890s with black-stained oak handles are certainly the most valuable. Many people also try to collect specific Soldier’s knives with specific-year date stamps. Knives that are highly desirable for collectors are often models made for only a short time, such as the Swissflame series from the late 1990s and early 2000s. These were unique in that they included a butane lighter.”

Other highly prized collectibles include the Scientist, produced in the 1980s and ’90s, and the Motorist with its metal inlay of St. Christopher. Knives made first as presentation gifts for four American presidents sell for $50 to more than $100.

Chris Lubkemann wrote The Victorinox Swiss Army Whittling Book, published in 2015, which already has been translated into Swiss, German, Dutch and Spanish. His use of the Swiss Army Tinker for carving led to the research and the publication of the book.

Actually Lubkemann carved for many years with an assortment of other knives.

The Tinker had been given to him as a gift and stayed put on a shelf. As he recalled, “My [previous knife] developed a lot of play between the handle and the blade, to the point where it was no longer a viable carving tool. I’m sure I could have gone out and bought another, but conservative spender that I am, I decided to pull out my Swiss Army Tinker and see how it worked.

“The rest is history. Not having any personal previous experience with Swiss Army knives, I was immediately impressed with the tool. While the blades were stainless they took an edge well, and for my special purposes maintained the edge well.”

Chris met Brian Huegel of Country Knives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Brian in turn knew Carl Elsener. At Brian’s suggestion, Chris contacted Carl, who demonstrated an interest in the whittling book, which became a reality with the support of both Victorinox and Fox Chapel Publishing.

“I was a fan of the knife long before I had any contact with Victorinox,” Chris concluded. “The more I used my Swiss Army knife the more I liked it and recommended it, especially the Tinker model, which is widely available, reasonably priced and incredibly useful—for much more than carving!”

“The Value Given is Much, Much Higher than the Price Charged”

Tim Leatherman remembers a trip to Europe that he made about 30 years ago.

“I had occasion to be near Ibach, Switzerland, so, uninvited, I parked well away and walked up to the entrance of Victorinox’s headquarters and factory. I was totally in awe,” he said. “I felt like I had found the Holy Grail. I remember they had a display on the outside wall of a Swiss Army knife broken down into its components. I must have studied it for an hour. I was too awestruck to knock on their door. The key to the success of any knife is that the value given be more than the price charged. With the Swiss Army knife the value given is much, much higher than the price charged, and the price is very reasonable.”

All images courtesy of Victorinox.

Find Swiss Army Knives at BLADE Show 2018

The world’s largest and foremost knife show, BLADE Show, is taking place June 1-3 in Atlanta. You’ll find the planet’s most innovative knifemakers in one spot. Learn more about how to attend BLADE Show 2018 here.